Linux BASH Shell Programming

Audience

This course is for IT professionals familiar with Linux at the user level who wish to gain skills in automating administrative tasks.

Prerequisites

This course assumes that the delegate is familiar with the Linux/Unix command-line interface, can effectively manipulate files and processes and efficient with the relevant editor.

Duration

3 days. Hands on.

Course Objectives

The course provides delegates with the knowledge and skills necessary to benefit from developing effective BASH scripts for system administration and maximise the benefits of the most commonly used Linux utilities.  Delegates are taught how to develop simple scripts to automate frequently executed commands, add conditional logic, user interaction, loops, menus and functions to enhance the productivity and effectiveness of the system administrator. This highly practical course covers the BASH Shell in detail and is applicable for all Linux Systems - Red Hat, SUSE, etc...   After completing this course students will be able to:

• Develop and debug shell scripts
• Use local and environment variables and shell metacharacters in scripts
• Customize system-wide shell initialization files
• Use the exit status of a command to determine if the command succeeded or failed
• Access and process command-line arguments passed into a script
• Use flow control constructs such as branching and looping - Perform string manipulation and integer arithmetic on shell variables
• Write a script that uses functions
• Benefit from using signals and traps

Course Content

BASH Overview
Writing, running and debugging shell scripts
Shell operation, working with commands
Environment control
Translation services
Command history
Control structures
Advanced features